A month passed by in the blink of an eye, and the 701st was still on break.
Yuren sat on a bench, watching the girls play some kind of football game with a disarmed naval mine. It was a game where the goal was to kick it through a set of cones placed on either side.
"You guys sure are enjoying your break." Iraj walked over to Yuren, taking a seat beside him.
"I don't even know what this is... they came up with it on their own." Yuren shook his head, watching the girls kick the bomb.
"That's pretty amazing, I have to say." Iraj laughed.
"It's a little scary." Yuren admitted.
"Gotta find entertainment somehow, I guess." Iraj shrugged.
"You're probably right." Yuren agreed. "Say Colonel..."
"What's up?"
"Have you been contacted by the Vice Minister recently?"
"No, not for a while. Why do you ask?" Iraj answered.
"I haven't been able to reach her." Yuren sighed. "Not even by going to her office, she never there."
"The Vice Minister is a very busy woman after all, she doesn't usually have time for chit chat. What's wrong? Did something happen?" The Colonel questioned.
"Not really, no." Yuren shook his head.
"Are you sure? You look worried." Iraj raised an eyebrow.
"Well..." Yuren hesitated. "Have you ever been to..."
"To where?" Iraj asked, confused.
"The facility where damaged androids go." Yuren replied.
"Damaged androids? I'm afraid I've never had the pleasure." Iraj shrugged, "I've only been to the factories of the big companies. Not the Ministry's own android facility."
"I see..."
"Is something bothering you?" Iraj inquired, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know you lost some androids on that last mission. I'm not sure how it works for your battalion but you can try putting in a requisition request for another android or two to make up for your lost numbers."
"Thanks, but I'm not sure they can replace Jia and Bei." Yuren sighed, and the pain in his chest flared.
"I can't imagine losing the ones that were so close to you." Iraj nodded, "you have my sympathies, Commander."
"Thank you, Colonel."
"Well, I need to get going. I've got work to do." The Colonel stood, "you should come by the bar later tonight, we can have a drink or two. What do you say?"
"That sounds great." Yuren forced a smile. "I'll think on it."
"See you then." Iraj grinned. He turned and left.
Yuren watched him walk away, lost in thought.
"Commander!"
Yuren turned his head to see Ester running towards him, holding up her clipboard.
"What is it, Ester?"
"A shipment arrived and it needs your authorization signature." Ester informed him.
"Oh? Let me take a look."
Yuren followed Ester back to the base and to the storage area. There were several large crates with the Schreadel Imperial Union emblem printed on the side, "What the..."
"Commander, you should read the paperwork first before signing anything." Ester urged.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Yuren picked up the clipboard, quickly reading the document.
"Huh? This can't be right." Yuren gasped.
"What's wrong, Commander?" Ester tilted her head.
"Automation systems? Neural networking engine for XRVS01? Is this a new weapon or something?" Yuren wondered. "It says they're parts for the XRVS01. I don't know what that is."
"Maybe they're upgrades for the Eisendrache, Commander?" Ester suggested.
A truck slowly backed in with another crate, one more armored and bigger than the others.
"More cargo?" Yuren commented.
"Let's see... the XRVS01 itself should be in that one. Time to sign." Ester smiled, handing him a pen.
"The XRVS01? What the heck is that?"
"I'm not sure, but it seems like something very important, Commander." Ester shrugged.
"You don't say." Yuren took the pen and signed his name. "What could it be?"
"I guess we'll find out soon enough, Commander."
"Guess so." Yuren sighed, returning the clipboard to Ester.
"Well, we should get these crates unpacked." Ester motioned.
"Alright!" The short android blew a whistle. "Let's move, people!"
Drones suddenly appeared and began cutting open the boxes, revealing various components and materials.
"This is a lot of equipment," one observer commented.
"It's an automation system," Ester replied. "But I've never seen one this advanced before."
"Really?" Yuren watched as the drones carefully handled the cargo.
"Yes, and I've seen a lot of systems. These components are top-of-the-line. It's going to take a while to install everything."
"Install?" Yuren questioned.
"Of course, Commander. These are all parts for a single unit. The XRVS01 itself is likely the largest component, but the automation systems are equally important," Ester explained.
"I understand..."
"Don't worry, Commander. We'll sort this out in no time. We just need to figure out where everything goes."
One of the Drones buzzed, "Officer authorization required."
"Authorization? Looks like you have to unlock the big crate, Commander." Ester chuckled.
"Okay."
"Come on, let's go see the big one."
Ester and Yuren made their way over to the armored crate, where the drones had stopped trying to open it.
"I wonder why the drones won't open it..."
"Maybe it's a safety feature." Ester guessed.
"I guess."
Yuren approached the crate, placing his hand on the scanner. A green light scanned his palm, and a panel opened up.
"Nova GEN Authorization code required for confirmation." A voice announced.
"Um... okay."
"Type it in here, Commander." Ester pointed to the screen.
"Right."
Yuren typed in the code from the form, and the crate hissed as steam began to escape. The top lifted open, revealing a capsule with the number XRVS01 printed on the side.
"This is... a weapon? It looks like an android." Yuren noted.
"I think it is, Commander. This is the XRVS01 unit, the latest model of android."
"Android? What's so special about this one?"
"I'm not sure, we'll have to install the rest of the components and test it out." Ester grinned. "I'm very curious, though."
"I bet."
"Let's get to work, Commander!"
Yuren spent the next few hours helping the drones move the cargo and organize the parts. The amount of material was a lot more than he expected.
"So much stuff."
"Looks like everything's accounted for, Commander." Ester checked her list, "I'll have the drones start installing the system."
"Thanks, Ester."
"Of course, Commander. That's my job." She smiled, giving a salute.
"Right."
"You should get back to the office, Commander. "This may take up to an hour. I'll message you when it's ready."
"I guess I should." Yuren nodded. "Thanks again."
"Of course, Commander." Ester smiled, "Now go!"
"Okay, okay." Yuren held his hands up and walked away.
As Yuren made his way to the office, he heard a blast coming from the field.
"What the?!" he exclaimed, starting to run toward the site.
As he approached, he saw smoke rising and a crater in the field.
"Commander, don't be too mad, but the mine went off..." Kuno said sheepishly.
"Oh, for the love of—" Yuren pinched the bridge of his nose. "How did that happen?!"
"We were on the last round, and Ola's team was losing," Mira explained.
"And?"
"She might have used a signal wave to rearm the mine and give Ola's team the winning goal," Lina admitted.
"How did you get it armed?! What was the point of disarming it?!" Yuren groaned. This was getting out of hand.
"Sorry..." Kuno apologized.
"You all are going to fix that mess and restore the field back to normal," Yuren ordered.
"Yes, sir," they nodded.
"Get it done. Now."
"Yes, sir..." the girls replied.
"I mean it. I'll be checking on you all later," Yuren sighed, leaving them to clean up their mess.
He made his way back to the office, opened the door, and sat down at his desk.
"Why aren't they allowed to leave the base for a break? They were able to go out normally before," he thought. He had no idea why things were suddenly changing. Was it because of the incident with the Meteorn?
His thoughts were interrupted by a call on his console.
"This is the commander."
"Hey, it's me," Iraj's face appeared on the screen.
"What's up, Colonel?"
"We heard an explosion from your block. Did...?"
"My girls," Yuren answered.
"Ah, I see. That game they were playing earlier," Iraj nodded.
"Yeah."
"Listen, Commander. There's been a change of plans. I've received orders for an assignment, and I'm heading out first thing tomorrow. I won't be available, so try to keep yourselves entertained without using any ordinance." Iraj smirked.
"Got it."
"Take care, Commander."
"Yeah, you too."
The call ended, and the screen went dark.
Yuren let out a long exhale, rubbing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. "This is a joke."
"Commander?" Lina called from the other side of the door after a long pause.
"What is it, Lina?"
"Ester is asking for you."
"Tell her I'm coming."
"Yes, sir."
Yuren got up and made his way back to the hangar. Garra was standing off to the side while the drones installed the equipment.
"What's the situation?"
"Everything's installed, Commander. The drone teams are running the final checks," Ester smiled. "Once they're done, you can open the capsule."
"Good, good."
"What is this thing?" Garra questioned, "did you order it?"
"No, it came as part of the shipment. The Vice Minister apparently sent it."
"Hmm." Garra hummed, not satisfied with the answer.
"The drones have finished installing the hardware, Commander." Ester informed.
"Then let's open the capsule."
"Of course."
Yuren pressed his hand against the scanner, and the capsule hissed open. Inside was a nude android; she had a barcode on her cheek and was covered in some kind of reflective cloth.
"No core..." Garra noted.
"You're right, She has no core!" Ester gasped. "I can't believe it! I've never seen an android with a coreless body before!"
"It's strange, yes. But why would they send an android without a core?" Garra mused.
"What do we do now?" Yuren asked, glancing over at the android.
"I think you need to activate her, Commander." Ester suggested.
"Activate her? How?"
"Place your hand on her chest, there should be a response." Ester instructed.
"Okay."
Yuren reached forward and pressed his hand on her chest, and immediately the android's eyes shot open.
"Initialization started." She spoke in a monotone voice.
"Woah!" Yuren jumped back, startled.
"Neural processes started, all computation channels are operational. All primary systems are online."
The android stood up, the reflective fabric peeling away.
"Wow!" Ester gasped.
The android had long black hair, pale skin, and piercing red eyes.
"She's beautiful." Yuren noted.
"It's so smooth." Ester ran her fingers along the android's arm.
"Who are you?" Garra asked.
"XRVS01 Naiola, computational platform for the Nova Genesis project."
"Computational platform? What's that supposed to mean?"
"All projected possibilities are to be calculated, I have been created to ensure success via the best possible methods." The android stated.
"Interesting. Do you have a core?" Ester inquired.
"Negative, the computational platform does not have a core. My calculations are made directly through a neural network and are stored on the framework system."
"This is amazing!" Ester squealed.
"So... You were not created from a Meteorn?" Yuren questioned.
"That is correct, I am what you call artificial intelligence." Naiola nodded.
"Amazing." Ester repeated, running her fingers through the android's hair.
"What's your purpose? Why did you come here?" Yuren inquired.
"To help with administration of the Nova Genesis project and the management of it's androids as well as provide support to the Commander in all areas of the command." Naiola stated.
Yuren didn't know what to make of this. This was the first time he had ever seen an android like her. She was beautiful, and her voice was rather mesmerizing in its subtle expressiveness.
But this one was not like the others. She was different, a true AI. Yuren felt a bit sad and yet relieved she wasn't made using a Meteorn's core.
Garra walked away without another word; the look on her face was unreadable.
"Garra, where are you going?"
"Shut up." Garra replied.
"Garra..."
"Don't you dare follow me."
Yuren watched her walk away, unsure what was going through her mind.